This invention, hereafter referred to as the Alerting Apparatus, relates to vehicle devices designed to further improve the safety of drivers and their vehicles, specifically during visual impairment, unexpected braking of preceding traffic and from the hypnotic like a trance of lengthy mind-numbing highway driving.
Visual vigilance is without question the main requirement in driving any vehicle. Windshields, windshield washers, headlights, tail lights, turning indicator lights, and brake lights including the center high-mounted stop lamp (CHMSL) have been installed to aid in this driving requirement. Brake light "enhancers" in prior art were proposed in a continuing effort to further improve public safety on crowded highways. The following is a list of researched prior art in the field of driving safety and vehicle impacting prevention:
U.S. Pat. No. 4,403,210 issued Sep. 6, 1983 to Patrick O. Sullivan, is a brake light enhancer that involves the left and right turn signal operation and left and right brake lamps and conditionally provides flashing with each brake pedal application. The device includes a timer/pulse generator, a counter and a latch, all involving complex integrated electronics that is costly and increases the probability of circuit failure. This device is not applicable to the CHMSL.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,591,824 issued May 27, 1986 to John H. Lomen, is a combined turning signal and brake light enhancer device requiring selective electronic circuitry that add to the possibility of failure. The CHMSL is not applicable.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,651,129 issued May 17, 1987 to John P. Wood and Richard A. Gray, is a separate and complete light assembly, consisting of three light bulbs, using a plurality of integrated and discrete electronic components, including an oscillator, divider/counter, and gating circuits. This device is also extensively complex and installation is quite extensive. The CHMSL is not applicable.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,663,609 issued May 5, 1987 to George M. Rosario, is a brake light enhancer that provides initial flashing of the brake lights followed by alternate on-off illumination of the brake lights for the duration of each brake pedal application. This enhancer repeats the flashing/blinking sequence with every brake pedal application. This device provides excessive flashing and blinking which could confuse vehicle operators.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,956,633 issued Sep. 11, 1990 to Charles K. Waterson and Richard Vercillo, is a brake light enhancer that works in conjunction with turn signal operation and provides flashing of brake lights each and every time the brake pedal is applied. Confusion would reign or time-consuming decisions would affect vehicle operators. This device does not apply specifically to the CHMSL.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,987,405 issued Jan. 22, 1991 to Walter T. Jakobowski, is a brake light enhancer that uses a transistor as an electronic switch and an oscillator and counter. It provides flashing of the CHMSL followed by a period of constant illumination and then repeating this sequence as long as the brake pedal is applied. Integrated Circuits and solid state components provide two clock functions. This device repeats the cycle of blinking and constant illumination for the length of brake pedal application. It sends a message that a driver ahead of you is applying constant brake pedal and the driver may be stopping, has stopped, or is riding the brake pedal as a foot rest. There is no fail-safe feature and the use of integrated circuitry increases the probability of failure.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,990,887 issued Feb. 5, 1991 to Robert Lee, is a brake light illumination extension device that extends the brake light illumination beyond the period of brake pedal application. This device is a novel brake light system and does not relate to vehicle safety.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,345,218 issued Sep. 6, 1994 to Daniel S. Woods and Robert Stargiotti, is a flashing brake light system utilizing integrated circuitry. Although touted to be less complicated and more reliable than previous art, this device relies on a semiconductor switch to illuminate the brake light. It is gated "on" from a solid state oscillator and timer. All of these are subject to failure, rendering the center high-mounted stop lamp inoperative. Most solid state circuits are heat sensitive and with excessive intrinsic and/or ambient temperatures, they experience unstable operation and become damaged or totally useless. This device has no failsafe feature.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,404,130 issued Apr. 4, 1995 to Dong H. Lee, Myung H. Lee, and Hea Soon Lee, is a sudden-stop brake-light warning system that utilizes a "mercury" switch, and integrated circuitry. A solid state rectifier, multivibrator, and transistor pulses a relay. This device provides continuous pulsing of the brake lights while the "mercury" switch remains closed. This device would not function in normal braking requirements and uses an undesired element for public usage in the switch used. Device is not designed for accident prevention during normal vehicle operation. Again, integrated circuitry and associated components render this device to be more failure prone.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,565,841 issued Oct. 15, 1996 to Sobas R. Pandohie, is a brake light enhancer. The brake switch illumination voltage for all brake lamps, left, right, and center, is interrupted by contacts of a relay energizing and dependent on a multitude of solid state components, requiring voltage directly from the vehicle battery for a five volt regulated power supply, and the use of an existing vehicle flasher unit.
This device interrupts the brake switch illumination voltage wire connection for all brake lamps and routes this main brake lamp illuminating voltage through pins of a detachable connector, through closed contacts of a relay, through another set of pins of the same detachable connector, and then to the left, right and center brake lamps. In this invention, the re-routing of the illumination voltage for all of the existing braking indicator lamps, inserts a potential threat to safe vehicular operation, by the possible loss of illumination voltage to all of the vehicles braking lamps. Normal and varying vibrations with abrupt movements in an operating vehicle can create the loss of all brake lamp illumination to all braking indicator lamps, by the detachable connector becoming disconnected. Either of the two friction connected pins within the detachable connector can become sufficiently oxidized on their surfaces to prevent passage of the illumination voltage. Also, relay contacts are commonly known to become oxidized and blackened on their surfaces, preventing or altering voltage passage.
This device uses around twenty solid state integrated circuits all are energized constantly during vehicle operation. This high number of active integrated circuits greatly increases potential component failure. These circuits require a five volt regulated power supply which, is connected directly to the vehicle battery, without a protection fuse. A short to battery ground occurring in this invention could start a vehicle fire, before the overheated battery connection burns open.
All above cited prior art satisfactorily achieve the purpose of the invention, however, prior art has not provided an invention that produces "brakes initiated" brake lamp annunciations specifically designed for the existing center brake lamp operation without using or compromising wiring circuits for other braking lamps or vehicle systems, and allowing prevents a subsequent "brakes initiated" brake lamp annunciation to the center brake lamp until the expiration of a previous annunciation time lapse, that was extendable by related subsequent braking, thus producing brakes initiated annunciations, without using direct vehicle battery voltage, detachable connectors, voltage regulators, complex integrated circuits, logic circuits, and using only the center brake lamp illumination voltage on the dedicated wire connection specifically connected to the center brake lamp as the operating voltage source for seven discrete components, and with invention failure the center brake lamp would continue to normally operate, and if the operating voltage source became disconnected, only the center brake lamp would be disabled, not other vehicle brake lamps.